Merlin Prince of Daobeth
by rangelm1
Summary: Merlin hides more than just his magic. He hides a complicated family secret that could uproot everything he holds dear and could even be then end of his precious destiny. One murderous uncle, one royal twin, and one pissed off Arthur makes for a hellish week for Merlin. Royal!Merlin Prince AU Hurt!Merlin Angry!Arthur Warnings in the chapters they pertain to.
1. Ch1

Chapter 1

**So, this happened. A plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone and now I have a full-length fic planned out from start to finish. So, here's where I cheated a little. I changed a few (okay so a lot of) details to make this plot work. First of all, I changed Merlin's mother. I love Hunith to death, but I needed her later in the story. Sorry. And second, in this story, at 16 a person can take control of the crown if they are the rightful heir. That was purely to further the plot. Anything else I changed I'll try to explain in the fic. Enough talking, here's what you clicked for…**

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Hundreds of years ago, the kingdom of Daobeth, was the most powerful of the five kingdoms. He had the strongest citadel, which made him the greatest of the five kingdoms.

Daobeth participated in many different battles and won victories. However, despite all this, the kingdom was attacked by dragons. And this battle ended for him destruction, despite a strong citadel. Since then it has been only ruins.

Or at least that's what the rest of Albion has believed for years. Daobeth' s history is full of family tragedy, dragons, and betrayal. It is far from the supposed ruins the five kingdoms believe exist.

The Queen of Daobeth is no exception to it's harsh past. Having gained the crown by essentially losing the closest family she had, Queen Liecia has learned to govern mostly on her own.

She has only one person to turn to when the pressure of ruling a Kingdom becomes too much, or the loneliness threatens to take over. That is her younger brother Cardon.

Cardon, being only 2 summers younger than his sister, holds the title of Prince of Daobeth and First Knight of Daobeth.

The young siblings are beloved by the people and those ignorant of the royal family's past would never guess the emotional turmoil always present in both troubled souls.

They once shared the burden of ruling with another, some would say even more, troubled soul.

The missing Prince, twin brother of the Queen, is a ghostly reminder that outside Daobeth's impenetrable borders there lies a murderous traitor willing to stalk and hunt his prey to the ends of Albion.

For all the two royals know, their self-sacrificing brother has already been slaughtered by the person they used to call uncle.

But on the opposite side of the Five Kingdoms a hidden Prince lies sleeping almost peacefully dreaming of dragons and destinies for too big for such a small warlock.

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**So that one was short but it's more of a prologue than a chapter anyways. For those that are confused, Merlin has a twin sister, Liecia, who is Queen and a younger brother, Cardon, who is First Knight. I will explain the complicated family tree in later chapters I promise. And not to fear I already have the next few chapters planned out so it shouldn't be a long wait I swear! Please Review and Comment I love hearing your thoughts.**


	2. Ch2

Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back! So, this one should be much more Merlin and less my ramblings. This one will introduce not only the mysterious Uncle mentioned in the last chapter but also more family business. This turned out much longer than I thought I was capable of. Thank you so much to ****Dragoness of the Moon for reviewing! Reviews are what keep me writing! Anyways here's the thing you clicked for. ****Hope you enjoy…**

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"Meeerrlin!"

"I'm one minute late and you act as if the castle is falling. You really are a dramatic prat you know that."

The slightly out-of-breath servant had run the entire length of the castle after waking up late trying to avoid this display.

As Arthur turned to chuck whatever projectile he could find at his late servant, a knock interrupted their banter.

"Your Majesty, your presence is required in the Throne Room immediately." Arthur's most trusted Knight Sir Leon spoke with an urgency normally reserved for impending battles and larger problems of state, alerting both the King and his servant of the magnitude of whatever awaiting them across the castle.

Whatever the problem was, breakfast would have to wait. Arthur was always in a bad mood when food is denied which warns of the start of a _oh so wonderful _day for the secret warlock. Hoping the issue in the Throne Room was anything but magical, Merlin raced about dressing Arthur and running (once again with the running. He may be small but athletic he was surely not.) to where Sir Leon was leading them.

Merlin liked to pride himself a decent liar. Well proud is not the word, but he had kept both his magic and his past a secret for going on 4 summers, which points to being decent at the ability to react under pressure.

However, what waited behind the heavy wooden doors to the Throne Room would throw every scrap of control he had over his emotions for a whirl.

The man standing patiently in front of the Throne was an older gentleman with dark brown hair. He carried a long sword which looked to be of high quality but somewhat neglected state. His clothes gave the same high-status impression but low care indication.

The most intriguing feature of this mystery man was his eyes.

They seemed follow all of those in the vicinity, almost as if he were searching the knights and servants around him for someone in particular.

"Thank you, my Lord. You are most gracious to hear my lowly pleads." The words were spoken to Arthur, but his full attention fell to the now shaking servant behind him.

Merlin didn't register following Arthur to his seat as he was staring at the man talking to the King. His heartrate spiked causing beads of sweat to appear on his brow and his hands began shaking as if he were freezing to death.

To be honest he would prefer freezing to death to what the individual in front of him would surely bring.

Zoning back in to the conversation, Merlin caught the last part of Arthur's question and dreaded the words about to escape the man's mouth.

"… your name again?"

"My name is Grifon Ambrosius my Lord. I come from across the Kingdoms to alert you of impending danger in Camelot Sire."

The name caused a significant flinch to nearly knock the shaking figure behind Arthur to the ground. He had not heard that name in many years and it caused an icy ball of dread to drop in the pit of his stomach.

If Arthur noticed this reaction, he merely ignored it and continued listening to Grifon.

That name, or more so the person it belongs to, had caused Merlin immense pain and suffering that he thought he had finally outrun when fleeing to Camelot.

The person standing in front of him was his Uncle.

The very Uncle that had tracked and hunted him across all Five Kingdoms. The very Uncle that had "raised" him and his siblings by punishing them, thankfully mostly Merlin, constantly. The very Uncle that attempted to murder both him and his sister out of greed.

That Uncle is now staring directly at him, seeing the dizzying affects of his presence on the young warlock and continuing to speak to Arthur.

Unaware of any of his manservants dark and panicked thoughts, Arthur was working up a worry in his own mind as the stranger from far lands began to describe the "impeding danger" he traveled to speak about.

"Sire, I regret to inform you that it may be too late to give proper warning for this particular monster."

Grifon stated with a slight frown.

"Too late! What monster do you speak of? How is it too late if you are only just arriving?" Arthur questioned.

The more this man spoke the more scared (not scared. He is never scared. Just weary of certain situations) the King became. There had been plenty of monsters and magical creatures to attack Camelot both before and during his reign. That didn't however make any of them easier to defeat or the losses they caused any easier to forget.

Arthur was interrupted from his musings by Grifon answering his question

"Your Majesty, I have been pursuing a very dangerous warlock for years now. I have chased him from one end of the Kingdoms to the other with no such avail. I had lost him near the border of Cenred's lands several years ago and I fear the trail now leads directly to your Kingdom."

This whole speech was given with an almost fearful tone that didn't quite match his eyes.

At the word Warlock, Merlin's head shot up from where he had previously been trying to hide what he was sure was an obvious display of anxiety. He didn't think his Uncle would just out him right here in the Throne Room.

His worst fears were all manifesting themselves and he suddenly couldn't catch his breath. Would it really make a difference though? As soon as his uncle's eyes had met his, he knew Arthur would hate him by the end of the day. Whether it was for the lies or his magic he didn't know.

Arthur, who had continued to question Grifon in the moments Merlin spent panicking, had no earthly idea what a Warlock was, but it sounded entirely too close to a sorcerer for his liking.

While he hadn't been as invested in the war on magic since his father's death, he still refused to tolerate any use of magic and spells in Camelot. No executions had been carried out since his reign began, but that was purely because he was a good King, right?

Maybe the evil magic users of Albion had finally decided Camelot was too strong or mighty to attack. Surely, that was the reason.

Whatever the case may be, this Warlock fellow sounds like a sizable problem.

As if he could sense his manservant's nervousness and tension, Arthur turned his head slightly and almost reeled back at the terror in Merlin's eyes at the announcement of a Warlock.

Maybe Merlin knew what a Warlock was? But why would he? That's just silly, of course Merlin doesn't know. He's just scared for the danger that is apparently already in Camelot. Scared doesn't really cover the emotion showing on Merlin's face though.

Arthur could swear he looked as though the world was going to end at the mere mention of the Warlock. Had he not been in front of this stranger (what was his name again? Grafon, Griton, _Grifon_ ah there it is) and his entire court he would be tempted to calm the manservant.

Maybe once this meeting is over he will talk to Merlin and tell him to man up or something.

Grifon had gone on to explain how he tracked down this individual, but from what Merlin could tell they were mostly made up lies about mysterious deaths and burning crops.

If Grifon was attempting to make Arthur hate Warlocks, he was doing an amazing job.

The more "damages and losses" the liar spoke of, the more Arthur's eyes darkened. If there was one thing that would make Arthur angry enough to kill, it's to harm his people.

Those dark eyes would soon look into his with hatred and betrayal, and that thought made him want to lose what little food he had stolen from the kitchen that morning.

With Grifon finishing up his tale, Arthur asked one final question that had been bugging him for the entirety of the meeting.

"Besides the obvious want to protect innocents, what other reason would you have to travel so far to chase this monster?

Another flinch was given at the last word.

Grifon answered immediately with an angry, and almost feral, look on his face.

"Sire, this evil freak has taken everything from me. I cannot rest until I get my revenge."

Merlin raised his head slightly as Grifon spoke and noticed he had not mentioned the desire to kill him. There was always the assumption that his Uncle wanted to kill him. To make him pay for locking him out of his own Kingdom.

This shocked and scared him in equal measures as this could mean Grifon has something worse than death planned for him.

And it made sense now, why he had not announced his nephew's identity to all of Camelot. He would have surely been killed before whatever plan his uncle had, could come to fruition.

While he was attempting to reason through these thoughts, Arthur ended the meeting with one last sentence directed at Grifon.

"You are a brave and noble man to chase this abomination for so long. You will be rewarded for your help in keeping my people safe. You can stay here for the night while preparations are made to find this Warlock. Again, thank you. You are dismissed."

Grifon bowed and headed through the heavy metal doors to the rest of the castle, but not without giving one last unnoticed smirk at Merlin as he turned.

The icy ball of dread that had been present since that morning doubled in size and he could no longer control the shaking of his hands.

In an attempt to avoid alerting Arthur to his state and having to explain his actions, Merlin fled through the side door of the room straight down the hallway and blindly ran as far away from the room as possible.

In his haste he managed to find the one person that could make things worse.

Turning a corner, Merlin collided hard with the body of his uncle making him fall even harder to the ground. Struggling to breathe anyway plus the added breath just knocked out of him, almost caused Merlin to pass out right there in the hallway.

When his vision cleared, the angry eyes of his uncle made him wish the sweet oblivion had taken him instead.

Grifon reached down and harshly pulled his nephew up by his arm, hard enough to leave what would probably be very dark bruises in a few days.

"Boy, if you make one sound I will out your web of lies to the King himself and make you watch as it destroys him from the inside out."

While Merlin expected such a threat, the reality of the situation hit him hard as he realized it would crush Arthur to think his servant had betrayed him too.

Merlin had always feared death, but as time went on, the threat became a normality and other things took precedence. Such as Arthur's mental stability.

Grifon, not noticing or maybe not caring about Merlin's internalized realization, proceeded to tell Merlin in hushed whispers exactly what he feared in the Throne Room.

"You are going to quietly and quickly tell anyone who would stop you that you have to go visit home for some reason and that you won't be back for several weeks. Your lie is your choice, but if one person, just ONE, suspects you are in trouble, I will use you to burn the heart out of the King of Camelot. You my dear boy, will watch as yet another Kingdom you care about falls because of you. You will meet me outside the castle walls at dark. Do I make myself clear?"

A shake of the head is all the response Grifon gets, but it must be what he's looking for because he releases Merlin and steps back.

He then turns around and walks briskly down the hallway.

With his arm and heart throbbing in sync, Merlin wobblily begins his trek back to his chambers. The one thought running through his mind is

_I can't fail these people too_.

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**So, what do you think? That is single-handedly the longest piece of fiction I've ever wrote. It's definitely the first published piece. Thank you so much for reading! Please, please review! Good or bad, I want them all. I got one review and I wrote an entire 5 page chapter from the inspiration from it. Imagine what I'll write if I get more. We will have to see.**


	3. Ch3

Chapter 3

**Three chapters in three days wow I'm slightly addicted to this whole writing thing. I may also be pushing all of my stress for finals this week into the back of my head. Oh well. So, this chapter was supposed to go way further in the plot, but I got too emotional and boom lots of angst. This will explain more about Balinor and Uther but also show some of Merlin's relationship with the mystery siblings in Daobeth. Well here goes nothing. Enjoy!**

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Arthur paced angrily across his chambers thinking of new and improved punishments for his now missing servant.

What made that idiot think he could just disappear out of thin air right before lunch time. Missing Breakfast this morning meant the royal had little to no patience regarding the lack of both his food and the clumsy manservant who was neglecting to bring it to him.

One minor magical attack and he thinks he deserves a day in the tavern.

_Or maybe something is wrong? Obviously, he wasn't doing that well in the Throne Room._

Those thoughts sounded suspiciously Merlin-like and he dismissed them immediately. He honestly did attempt to find his fri-_ahem_-servant after the meeting. The tension in the air around Merlin this morning was concerning, and Arthur wanted answers.

Besides that, Merlin always seem to know the right thing to say when these things happened.

Arthur's a King for crying out loud! He should be able to defend his Kingdom with or without his disobedient servant. With that thought, Arthur put Merlin out of thoughts and began planning out a search pattern for the Knights to use when trying to find this _Warlock_.

Grifon had been brief with his explanation on what this person was capable of, so the young King was still, frustratingly, confused on what he was about to face.

An idea popped into his head and he immediately headed to the Court Physician. Surely Gaius would be able to tell him more about this magical threat. Maybe he would even find his insubordinate idiot there as well.

With Gaius, was in fact the very servant that occupied Arthur's thoughts.

Not that Gaius was able to really talk to him. Merlin raced from his cupboard to the drawers back to the cupboard, then finally to his secret hiding place under the floorboards collecting as much of his life in Camelot as he could.

He was under no impression he would be returning. (Or even be alive if his Uncle was attempting what he feared he is.) He had yet to tell Gaius anymore than inform him of who he had just shared a Throne Room with mere hours ago.

His guardian immediately recognized the name but could not fathom why his ward thought packing up and leaving was the only option.

If only Merlin's mind would slow down enough for him to explain, he had no other choice. It was leave or risk destroying the Kingdom he had come to love the past few years.

Unbeknownst to Merlin, Gaius had been all but yelling his name for several minutes now.

"Merlin! Stop this madness and tell me what happened! Did he hurt you? Merlin!"

"No, Gaius but he will hurt Arthur! I have to be gone by dark or he will reveal my secret. Both of them."

"And what exactly are you planning on doing when you leave huh? Wait are you going _with_ HIM?"

The worry in Gaius' tone quickly turned to anger as the pieces fell into place. Giaus had once been a close friend with another member of the Ambrosius family back when he still practiced magic daily. The physician remembers clearly what happened to the young man.

Back in the days of the dragons, a young and boisterous Dragonlord approached Camelot offering to help control the dragons in the kingdom. Uther excepted greedily, and Gaius now suspects the King had been planning, even before the death of his wife, to betray to secret royal. How Giaus came to find out the Dragonlord, Balinor Ambrosius, was secretly the King of a long-lost kingdom was actually a complete accident.

Like his son, who now resides in these very chambers, Balinor was curious and passionate about anything and everything he could get his hands on. History books especially.

When Balinor began to be more and more present in the Kingdom, Giaus took a liking to the young man and offered to help him with the many questions he always seemed to have.

"_Why Giaus is there so much history of Uther but not any of his predecessors?" _

"_Is there anyway there are more Kingdoms beyond the ones traveled today?"_

"_Why is there little information about the Daobeth Kingdom in these books?"_

The subject of Daobeth seemed to intrigue the young King, not that Giaus knew that yet. He would find any mention he could find on the history both before and after its supposed fall only five winters ago. The old man had begun to suspect there was more behind Balinor's reasonings to do with the lost Kingdom.

He got his answer soon enough in an old forgotten corner of the library. Giaus started his own research into the Kingdom and managed to find a slight mentioning of a family name passed down between the generations.

Balinor.

While shocked, Giaus had no need to scare the young man with his revelation. He merely continued helping the Dragonlord in researching his own heritage. He had not fully put together that the young man was hiding a crown however he knew better than to assume that the name was merely coincidence.

Everything changed the day Nimueh betrayed Uther and his Wife. Giaus remembers the day like it was yesterday. He also remembers telling Balinor to run and not look back. Balinor had already called Kilgharrah not realizing Uther's murderous intentions.

It was too late.

Merlin's chaotic packing mimicked his father's actions that day perfectly.

Giaus had told the young Dragonlord to run straight for a small town in Cenred's Kingdom where he could lay low for a few days with the old man's sister. Balinor refused to listen.

He insisted he had to make it to Daobeth. To his family. A family Giaus had never before heard about. That decision cost him everything.

Uther's men found him about to cross Camelot's borders and killed him where he stood. No one ever questioned the very familiar possessions the man carried, nor the grief on the physician's face when the body was brought back to burn. Lots of people died during those days. One death couldn't be distinguished from the others.

After Balinor's death, Giaus knew to leave well-enough alone and not seek out this supposed family and Kingdom. Despite his guilt and curiosity, the last thing the physician wanted to do was bring more grief to those mourning the Dragonlord by accidentally alerting Uther to their existence.

For years he refused to let himself think about his dead friend. Instead he focused on keeping his head and caring for the rather rambunctious young prince that now ran the halls of the castle.

That was until he got an interesting letter from his sister in Ealdor. He had originally sent word to his sister regarding safe passage for Balinor, so she knew of him but never got to meet the young man.

That's why his heart nearly stopped when his sister informed him of yet another Ambrosius needing help. This one however was much younger and running away from Daobeth instead of towards it.

He'll never forget feeling as if he was getting a second chance to make up for failing Balinor.

Seeing Merlin so lost and scared sent a shock of dread through his whole body. He was losing him just as he had Balinor.

Merlin had spoken of his Uncle and the horrors the man committed in Daobeth after Balinor's death. Grifon had held a special hatred for Merlin out of his siblings, as he had the Dragonlord powers. This information combined with the eerie déjà vu caused Gaius to abruptly spin Merlin around and demand answers.

Merlin was shaken out of his panicked scrambling by two strong arms grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face his guardian. These hands were strong, but much gentler than his Uncle's were. That thought was what kept him from immediately pulling away in fear.

"Merlin please talk to me. Tell me what happened by boy."

The use of his nickname and the emotion in the physician's voice snapped Merlin out of whatever trance he had been in and the situation sunk in.

His Uncle was here. In Camelot. Threatening Arthur and the Kingdom. And he was being forced to leave the only safety he had felt in years. The tears that began streaking down his pale cheeks made thick lines through the sweat and dirt caked there.

Upon seeing his ward begin to breakdown Giaus slowly reached out and pulled him into his chest with a comforting hand on his back.

"I'm so sorry Gaius. I don't know what else to do. I know he wants me to take him to Daobeth. I know I can't let him cross the border, but I can't let him tell Arthur my secret either. Arthur wouldn't understand. He would just see the lies and the betrayal. I can't hurt him like that. But they're my family Giaus."

The last sentence was cut off with a quite sob as Merlin curled further into his mentor.

"I just don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."

Any more words the warlock spoke were too distraught to reach the older man. Not knowing what he could say to comfort the shaking form in his arms, Giaus said nothing. He allowed the boy to cry out all of the fear and pain he could before gently pulling away to look Merlin in the face.

"Merlin, I know you are stuck in an impossible situation, but I need you to listen to me. If your Uncle does truly want to break open the borders of Daobeth, you will need to be careful. What did he tell you exactly?"

Attempting to get control over his breathing, Merlin cleared his throat and relayed his uncle's words to Giaus. He told him about the meeting and how he was trying to make Arthur hate Warlocks. And succeeding. By the end of it, Merlin could feel his head pounding and he still felt like a strong wind could knock him over.

Giaus' expression didn't change through most of the retelling only his eyebrow would occasionally raise mostly when Merlin was recounting the lies Grifon had told.

"Well if this is Grifon's plan, surely there is a way to somehow let Arthur know he is being led astray. Without Grifon knowing of course."

Merlin looked doubtful as he tried to think of one of his many "save the day" plans but couldn't fathom a way out of this with no pain.

"I think I have to go with him. If I don't leave, there's no telling what lies he could feed Arthur. We could have another Purge on our hands."

Merlin's voice got more and more panicked as he spoke.

Giaus shook his head and gave Merlin a look of pity.

"You really think Arthur could become his father? Have you not seen him in the last few years? With his people and with the Druids?"

It had only been last month that Elyan had been possessed by a druid spirit and Arthur had pledged to respect the peaceful magic users. Merlin didn't think this really compared though. To Arthur, the druids are peaceful and more than willing to stay away from Camelot. Merlin however had fought people. Killed people even. And he done all of it in Camelot. There's no way Arthur won't see this as the ultimate betrayal. Isn't that what Uther had blamed the purge on?

"I can see your thoughts Merlin. Have more faith in Arthur. He is not his father and I think with time he will see all you have done for him and Camelot."

Merlin didn't have time.

In fact, he had less than 3 hours before he needed to be outside the castle walls. With one last long sigh he began picking up more supplies and other necessities he planned on hiding somewhere safe before he met with Grifon. If he could somehow break away from Grifon and make it back, he would have plenty of supplies to run and hide with.

He ran for nearly 5 years. He had developed a strategy for running.

Once he stuffed the last tunic in his bag, he turned to his pseudo-father with tears in his eyes.

"I have to go now. I need to tell _Arthur_…"

His sentence cut off as he cleared his throat again in an attempt to stop the fit about to unravel.

A little stronger this time "I have to go tell Arthur I'm leaving and I need to hide these in the clearing outside the Castle."

This was all said with an emotionless look as if Merlin had given up and resigned to what he was having to do.

"Oh, my boy. Is there anything I can do to stop this?"

"No, Gaius I'm sorry. Wait, maybe."

Merlin began frantically searching for something in one the bags he had packed. He pulled out a piece of parchment and some ink.

"I have an idea and there's no guarantee this will even work. But, do you remember the spell I attempted to create that would enchant a bird or other animal to carry messages?"

"Well, yes I remember that, but I remember it failing. The animals never went to the right person."

"Well that was before I learned how to properly do that powerful of an enchantment. What if I tried again?"

"What good would it do now? What are you getting at Merlin?"

The conversation paused as the warlock looked up with an almost excited look on his face.

"I could warn Liecia and Cardon in Daobeth that our uncle is planning an attack! They could be prepared, and I wouldn't be walking to my death."

Giaus took a second to figure out the beginnings of this plan and shook his head.

"I fear that may not be enough. Besides you would still be subjected to whatever Grifon has planned on the travel there."

This statement calmed the young sorcerer's energy slightly, but his look stayed determined.

"I have to do this Gaius. I have to protect by family. My kingdom. Whatever the cost. I must protect both Daobeth and Camelot and this is how I must do it."

Gaius knew he was backed into a corner but couldn't help but try one more time to not fail another young Dragonlord.

"Merlin, your father tried to protect them too. I can't lose you as well."

It wasn't as though they never talked about Balinor, but his name still shocked the warlock for a second.

"I know. But I don't intend to let Grifon win. Not this time. He's done enough to Daobeth. To me. It's time to fight back. I am truly sorry though. You have been so kind and compassionate these last few years. You have helped me to not only control my powers, but to be a better man and I thank you for that. I'll miss you Giaus."

Merlin was almost crying again but the sound of loud boots marching towards the door broke the moment. Merlin turned his back away to compose himself as the person stepped through the door.

The person as it turns out was Arthur.

A very pissed of Arthur who just realized exactly were his servant was this whole time.

"Ah, Merlin. It seems you've given yourself a break have you. Well let me tell you exactly what you've missed while you were lazying around. I for one noticed a distinct lack of lunch in my chambers earlier and had to go all the way to kitchens and have another servant, one who knows how to DO THEIR DAMN JOB, get me my lunch TWO HOURS LATE. Now I have half a mind to throw you in the stocks…"

Arthur had been throwing his arms around gesturing wildly as he ranted but once he caught sight of both his servants red glossy eyes and the multiple bags packed he stopped abruptly.

"What's this? Are you leaving? What the hell Merlin? I knew you were scared but are you really that much of a coward?"

Arthur regretted that last question as soon as he had said it. He didn't truly think Merlin a coward. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Merlin rode out unarmed and untrained with little fear.

His pride however, wouldn't let him take it back so they all stood in awkward silence for what felt like hours.

Merlin hadn't reacted at all as Arthur yelled and insulted but as soon as Arthur had finished speaking he had slumped down on the bench he is packing on. He didn't look at Arthur as he spoke.

"I'm sorry Arthur."

Arthur wasn't sure what that apology was for, but he had a bad feeling it wasn't for missing lunch.

The servant then closed the bag he had in his hands and turned to Arthur with a defeated look.

Arthur was shocked into silence with the amount of sadness and pain on his manservant's face. He had seen the young man sad and tired, but this was a bone deep weariness he had never imagined would ever appear on such a young and friendly face such as Merlin's.

"Arthur, I have to head home for a little bit."

He almost stumbled over the word _home_ as he wasn't sure that Daobeth had been home for a long time. Of course, Arthur assumed Ealdor and immediately got a concerned look on his face.

"Is your mother alright? Is everything okay in Ealdor?"

Arthur hoped nothing had happened. It would explain the tears though. He adored Hunith. It would be truly awful if anything were to happen to her. He suddenly felt even worse about his earlier comment. Almost, just almost, enough to apologize.

Merlin almost denied the questions before he realized this was his chance. Arthur gave him the perfect lie. He would normally worry about Arthur offering to go with him, as he's sure he would if there was anything to harm Ealdor. With the supposed "dangerous warlock" in Camelot however, he knew Arthur wouldn't leave. Maybe that was part of Grifon's plan.

"Well, I mean…" Merlin didn't have to try to sound on the verge of tears, "Mother is sick, and you know how the winter is in Ealdor. I just want to make sure she doesn't get worse"

The sigh that was released after he talked wasn't faked either. He suddenly realized he had only an hour until he left, and dread started to set in. He couldn't focus on that though. He had a spell to figure out.

Which he couldn't do with Arthur in here. One thing at a time.

Arthur immediately felt like the ultimate jerk. He had just told his servant off while his mother could be _nope_ we aren't going there. Hunith will be fine. Merlin is going to take care of her and she will be fine. With that decided he guessed he should probably tell Giaus why he was even here.

Not that he had to explain himself, he is the king after all. But now the silence is even more awkward, and he grasped at the possible conversation change.

Of course, he forgot he hadn't yet told Merlin he could leave. (Not that he would ever do that, or Merlin would ever listen if he had.)

"When do plan to leave? Do you need a horse? If so just borrow one from the stables. I'm sure James won't mind one less horse to clean up after."

Merlin was both shocked and saddened by Arthur's concern. He was truly worried about Hunith and it hurt Merlin to realize he had just manipulated him again. One more lie to add to the list. He managed to reply with as much emotion as he could.

"Thank you Arthur and I plan to leave tonight. I won't need a horse. I've walked before. It's no big deal. I might not be back for a while. I wouldn't want to keep a castle horse for that long."

At the look Arthur was giving him, he added,

"Really I'll be fine."

It was getting close to dark and Merlin began to worry he wouldn't have time to fix his spell. He very well couldn't tell Arthur to leave but he was getting desperate. Luckily it seems his uncle had thought ahead as the warning bells began to ring. Or at least he hoped it was his uncle. One more surprise today and he might just fall over dead.

"Great! I hope this isn't that warlock. I don't even know what I'm dealing with."

Arthur was already moving towards the door with his sword out when he turned back to Merlin.

"Stay here until the sorcerer is caught. Do you here me? If I catch you trying to leave early I'll stick in the stocks myself!"

Merlin just nodded in his direction, but Arthur was out the door before he could see it.

"I need to figure out this spell now." Merlin said mostly to himself.

Surprisingly, it only took about 10 min for Merlin to find the mistake in his younger self's handwriting. He tested out the words he needed to say once before turning to the window and yanking it open.

"Do you plan on chasing down some poor robin? I fear you don't have the time for that."

Only Merlin didn't need to track one down.

He had noticed on hunts when deep in the forest small animals, especially birds tended to crowd near him. At first, he thought maybe it was because they could sense he wouldn't hurt then. But then he remembered what a druid once told him about his magic.

"_Emrys, your magic is connected to the grass of the earth, the fish of the seas, the flames of the people, and the birds of the sky." _

He hadn't paid much attention to the details of the sentence before. He knew the old man had been trying to get him to understand how his magic is connected to life itself and the elements, but the wording couldn't be more true.

Just as he had expected. a merlin, _how ironic_, flew to the window and perched on right next to the warlock.

Inspired by at least that part of the plan working, Merlin grabbed the paper and ink from earlier and began scribbling a rushed note to a far-away Kingdom he hadn't seen in years.

_Dear sister, _

_I don't have time to explain where I have been these past years, but I need you to trust me. Grifon is in Camelot and threating her King if I don't return to Daobeth with him. Obviously, I know this will bring nothing but misery for you and our people but I'm out of options. I need your help sister. I don't know of any action that could stop this, but I have to hope fate will be on our side. We are leaving tonight and no one in Camelot is the wiser. I don't know how long I can stall him, if any. I also don't know what state I will be in when we get there. I'm sorry to give you so much to deal with but like I said, I'm out of options. I love you and miss you all dearly. I wish you the best of luck._

_Merlin Ambrosius_

As he finished rolling up the letter, the warning bells stopped ringing, signaling the last of Merlin's time. Turning to the merlin still sitting patiently on the window he whispered the words

"_Mengambil ini kepada pemilik hak. Perlu cepat. Akan ghaib." _

He then tied the letter to the merlin's foot and watched as it flew high into the night sky.

"We all better pray that worked"

"Giaus promise me you won't look for me."

"Merlin I…"

"Please! I can't worry about you as well."

"Okay my boy, I promise."

Merlin sighed in relief only for the tension to come right back full force as what he was about to do settled in. He was about to willing go with his murderous uncle across the five kingdoms to attempt to invade his own Kingdom. Good thing he hadn't eaten since this morning.

Without looking back, Merlin picked his bags up and walked towards the door.

"Merlin, wait!"

Merlin stopped but didn't turn around not bearing to look at the emotions on his guardian's face.

"What should I tell Arthur? Eventually your lie will be revealed by time. Do you wish me to tell him all you've done for Camelot and himself? He deserves to know. You deserve for him to know."

Giaus waited with baited breath as the young warlock chose his words carefully.

"I know Arthur deserves to know the truth. I only ask that you wait till I'm gone."

Gone as in out of Camelot or gone as in dead Merlin would let him decide. With one last look at the place he called home, Merlin walked through the doorway and to what would probably be his death.

-page break-

**So that was much longer than I anticipated so your welcome. Don't get used to the long chapters everyday thing I have going on. I just happen to have some free time right now. I hope you loved it! Please review! Good or bad, both are great to hear! See ya guys next time.**


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